Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
WILL 2019 DIFFER from 2018? My hope is that it will.
I hope for less hate, for more understanding and acceptance and an ability to see individuals.
I hope for more listening, less talking. More empathy and compassion, less self-centeredness. More kindness, less meanness.
Less narcissism.
I hope for words that uplift and encourage, not break down and discourage. No gossip/talking behind people’s backs. No silence when compassionate words would help. But no judgment either. No controlling and acting like you have all the answers and making darn sure everyone knows that you have all the answers.
Instead, embrace. Appreciate. Like. Love.
These are difficult times. But these are also times of possibilities. We each have within us the power to treat strangers and those we love with respect and decency. Hold a door. Flash a smile. Hug. Inquire without interjecting your experience, your challenge, into conversation. Make it about someone else, not you. Listen. Care.
When mean words slam into conversation, open your mouth. Be that voice which doesn’t alienate but rather opens the heart to understanding.
Hope is more than a wish. It’s optimism and expectancy and trusting that things will get better. I hold hope for 2019. How about you?
#
Rancho Deluxe Z Garden in Mason City, Iowa, features an eclectic mix of art with some powerful messages. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo September 2014.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
© Copyright 2018 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I think I am going to use your list as my hopes too! It’s a good blueprint for life! I shared this with my family, thank you for sharing with us.
One more for me is a hope for my family to have new adventures and live life to the fullest. God’s blessings in your New Year
Thank you, Kiandra. And many blessings to you and yours also in 2019!
Thanks!
Amen!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you and Gary and your family also! I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better this past year.
Totally agree with all of those notions. Happy New Year!
Thank you and Happy New Year to you and Cyndy also!
I totally agree with your hopes for the next year. If we don’t have hope, we have nothing. An article from the Faribault Daily News: I recognized a familiar name!
The Northfield Poet Laureate Rob Hardy welcomes five Faribault poets to Northfield for Poetry Night, 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10 at Content Bookstore, 314 Division St. S., Northfield.
Guest poets include Larry Gavin (author of “Stone and Sky”), Audrey Kletscher Helbling (author of the popular Minnesota Prairie Roots blog), John Reinhard (author of “On the Road to Patsy Cline” and “Burning the Prairie”), Peter Allen and Kristen Twitchell (executive director of the Paradise Center for the Arts).
Wish I could be there to meet you in person!
Ah, so sweet of you. I HOPE to be at the poetry reading. My grandson is due to be born on January 11. I am on-call to watch my granddaughter while her parents are at the hospital an hour away. So the date of Baby Boy’s birth will determine whether I can participate in the reading. My family takes precedence.
I wish this post had a “love” button.
You are incredibly sweet. Thank you.
great posting and may all your 2019 hopes come to be
Happy new year and keep us posted on Baby News
Thank you. Yup, I will…waiting for that grandson. Nine days until he’s due.
I agree on all of your hopes for the new year. I know much of my year will be about family – both Forrest’s and mine. Forrest’s mother is dying of cancer, so we are entertaining folks who are coming to visit her. I’m also cooking nourishing meals for her and her husband, and our guests. I will also be making more trips up north. My siblings and I will be making decisions about our own mother’s care. It’s new territory for all of us, but working together (which isn’t always easy) is the challenge we face. I believe it can happen!
It’s exciting to have that grandson to arrive in the next week or so!!! Are you getting antsy?? Ha ha!! Enjoy the miracle.
Lori, your heart and soul overflow with kindness and love. Love in comforting meals cooked. Love in your home opened to loved ones. Love in the decisions you are making about your mom. Love all around.
Yes, I am getting pretty excited about Baby Boy’s birth.
I love your hope, and I concur with them all. Happy New Year Audrey!
Happy New Year to you and those you love also, Jackie. I know that 2018 was challenging for you in some ways. I pray for the blessings of peace and a better 2019 for you and those you love.